Wearable mental state monitor computer apparatus, systems, and related methods

ABSTRACT

A computer-implemented method of assessing the metal state of an individual by: (1) providing the individual with a wearable device (e.g., eyewear) that includes one or more sensors for assessing the mental state of the individual, (2) using information from one or more of the sensors to assess the mental state of the individual; and (3) informing the individual or a third party of the individual&#39;s mental state. In various embodiments, the method further involves using the wearable device to determine one or more environmental factors that are related to the individual&#39;s mental state. For example, the method may involve determining (e.g., from one or more images taken using the wearable device) that the individual is frequently in a stressed emotional state when a particular person is present, when the individual is engaged in a particular activity, and/or when the wearer experiences a certain internal or external context.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 62/046,406, filed Sep. 5, 2014, entitled, “WearableHealth Computer Apparatus, Systems, and Related Methods,” which ishereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

Being able to detect stress in a person and the cause of that stressbased on personal and environmental factors is of importance to manypeople. Accordingly, there is a need for improved systems and methodsfor monitoring and detecting stress for an individual. Variousembodiments of the present systems and methods recognized and addressthe foregoing considerations, and others, of prior art systems andmethods.

SUMMARY OF THE VARIOUS EMBODIMENTS

In general, in various embodiments, a computer-implemented method ofassessing the mental state of a wearer of a wearable device comprisesproviding eyewear to the wearer that comprises at least one or moresensors coupled to the eyewear that are adapted to detect one or morecharacteristics of the wearer of the eyewear. The one or morecharacteristics are associated with the wearer's mental state. Thesystem also receives one or more signals from the one or more sensors,wherein each of the one or more signals relates to at least onecharacteristic associated with the wearer. The at least onecharacteristic is selected from a group consisting of: (1) pupil size;(2) heart rate; (3) perspiration level; (4) respiration rate; (5)movement; and (6) brainwave activity. In various embodiments, the systemanalyzes the one or more received signals to determine the at least onecharacteristic associated with the wearer. The system may thenfacilitate the determination of a mental state of the wearer based onthe at least one characteristic, and associate the mental state of thewearer with an object and/or an activity.

In various embodiments, a computer-implemented method of assessing themental state of a wearer of a wearable device comprises providing thewearer with eyewear comprising a front-facing camera and an eye-facingcamera that are adapted to detect one or more characteristics of thewearer of the eyewear. The one or more characteristics of the wearer areassociated with the wearer's mental state. The system receives one ormore first images from the eye facing camera, wherein at least one ofthe one or more first images relates to at least one characteristicassociated with the wearer. The system also analyzes, by a processor,the at least one or more first images to determine the at least onecharacteristic. The method includes facilitating determination of amental state of the wearer based on the at least one characteristic.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Various embodiments of systems and methods for assessing a user's mentalstate are described below. In the course of this description, referencewill be made to the accompanying drawings, which are not necessarilydrawn to scale and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a Mental State Monitoring System inaccordance with an embodiment of the present system.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the Mental State Server of FIG. 1.

FIGS. 3A-3B depict a flowchart that generally illustrates various stepsexecuted by a Mental State Monitoring Module according to a particularembodiment.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of eyewear that may serve as the WearableHealth Monitoring Device 156 of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF SOME EMBODIMENTS

Various embodiments will now be described more fully hereinafter withreference to the accompanying drawings. It should be understood that theinvention may be embodied in many different forms and should not beconstrued as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, theseembodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough andcomplete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to thoseskilled in the art. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout.

OVERVIEW

A wearable mental state monitoring system, in various embodiments, may,for example, be embodied in any suitable wearable device configured tomonitor the mental state of a wearer. The system may, for example, beembodied as a pair of eyewear, as contact lenses, as a wristwatch, as asuitable piece of clothing (e.g., such as a suitable shirt, pair ofpants, undergarment, compression sleeve, etc.), as footwear, as a hat,as a helmet, as an orthopedic cast, or any other suitable wearable item.In a particular example, a wearable mental state monitoring systemembodied as a pair of eyewear may enable the system to access one ormore (e.g., all five) of a wearer's senses (e.g., touch, sight, sound,smell, and taste) based at least in part on a proximity of the eyewearto the wearer's sensory systems (e.g., eyes, mouth, ears, nose) whenworn by the wearer.

In various embodiments, the system comprises one or more sensorsconfigured to determine one or more attributes of the wearer's mentalstate. The one or more sensors may be coupled to the wearable device inany suitable way. For instance, the one or more sensors may be embeddedinto the wearable device, coupled to the wearable device, and/oroperatively coupled to the wearable device. The one or more sensors mayinclude, for example, one or more heart rate monitors, one or moreelectrocardiograms (EKG), one or more electroencephalograms (EEG), oneor more pedometers, one or more thermometers, one or more transdermaltransmitter sensors, one or more front-facing cameras, one or moreeye-facing cameras, one or more microphones, one or more accelerometers,one or more gyroscopes, one or more blood pressure sensors, one or morepulse oximeters, one or more respiration rate sensors, one or more bloodalcohol concentration (BAC) sensors, one or more near-fieldcommunication sensors, or any other suitable one or more sensors. Inparticular embodiments, the system is configured to gather data, forexample, using the one or more sensors, about the wearer (e.g., such astemperature, balance, heart rate, activity, activity levels, food eaten,medications taken, steps taken, position, movements, facial musclemovements, etc.).

In various embodiments, the sensors sense the mental state of the wearerby monitoring certain characteristics of the wearer including changes inpupil size, heart rate, perspiration level, composition of the wearer'sperspiration, respiration rate, movement, brainwave activity, and/or anyother suitable characteristic. The system then determines the wearer'smental state based on these characteristics. For instance, where thewearer has an increase in heart rate and/or perspiration level, thesystem may determine that the wearer is in a state of emotional stress.After determining the wearer's mental state, the system may notify thewearer or a third party (e.g., the wearer's physician) of the mentalstate. In particular embodiments, the system may also, or alternatively,save the mental state and related information to computer memory. Invarious embodiments, the system may notify the wearer via the wearabledevice or through a notification sent to a mobile device associated withthe wearer. The system may also provide the wearer with one or moresuggestions on how to address the wearer's current mental state. Forinstance, when the wearer is in a state of emotional stress, the systemmay suggest that the user meditate, remove themselves from their currentphysical or social situation, execute one or more exercises, etc.

In various embodiments, while the system is using one or more sensors(e.g., eyewear based sensors) to assess the mental state of the wearer,the system may also (e.g., at least substantially simultaneously)capture one or more images of a person or other object located in closeproximity to the wearer (e.g., using a camera, such as a forward-facingcamera associated with eyewear worn by the wearer). In variousembodiments, the system may capture and analyze the image to determinewhether the person or other object in the image caused the wearer'smental state. In other embodiments, the system may simply capture theimage to determine what the user was viewing when they were under astate of emotional stress. If the system determines that the person orother object in the image caused the wearer's mental state, the systemmay notify the wearer (or other individual) of the association and mayalso provide the wearer suggested actions to address the wearer's mentalstate.

In various embodiments, the system may also capture one or more imagesto determine reoccurring mental states (e.g., mental state patterns) inthe wearer's life. For instance, if on a first occasion when the weareris speaking to a particular person, the wearer becomes emotionallystressed, the system may capture an image of the particular person. Iflater, on a second occasion when the wearer is speaking to theparticular person, the wearer again becomes emotionally stressed, thesystem may again capture an image of the particular person. The systemmay compare the first image with the second image. If the systemdetermines that the first and second images are of the same particularperson, the system may notify the wearer that the wearer's mental statewhen speaking to the particular person is “stressed”. The system maythen provide suggestions to the wearer on how to address the wearer'smental state when in close proximity to the particular person.

The system may use one or more similar techniques to determine that auser is typically in a particular mental state (e.g., relaxed, happy,emotionally stressed) when engaged in a particular activity (e.g.,sailing, yoga, golf, commuting, a particular work activity). In variousembodiments, the system may be adapted to automatically determine thatthe wearer is engaged in a particular work activity based on informationfrom one or more of the sensors that the wearer is currently wearing(e.g., eyewear based sensors). For example, the system may useinformation from a forward facing camera installed in a pair of eyewearthat the individual is wearing to determine that the individual is on agolf course (e.g., by detecting the presence of a hole, a pin, a fairwayetc. . . . in one or more images taken by the forward-facing camera) orthat the individual is driving (e.g., by detecting the presence ofroadway “stripes” in an image from the forward-facing camera).

Exemplary Technical Platforms

As will be appreciated by one skilled in the relevant field, the presentsystems and methods may be, for example, embodied as a computer system,a method, or a computer program product. Accordingly, variousembodiments may be entirely hardware or a combination of hardware andsoftware. Furthermore, particular embodiments may take the form of acomputer program product stored on a computer-readable storage mediumhaving computer-readable instructions (e.g., software) embodied in thestorage medium. Various embodiments may also take the form ofInternet-implemented computer software. Any suitable computer-readablestorage medium may be utilized including, for example, hard disks,compact disks, DVDs, optical storage devices, and/or magnetic storagedevices.

Various embodiments are described below with reference to block diagramand flowchart illustrations of methods, apparatuses, (e.g., systems),and computer program products. It should be understood that each blockof the block diagrams and flowchart illustrations, and combinations ofblocks in the block diagrams and flowchart illustrations, respectively,can be implemented by a computer executing computer programinstructions. These computer program instructions may be loaded onto ageneral purpose computer, a special purpose computer, or otherprogrammable data processing apparatus that can direct a computer orother programmable data processing apparatus to function in a particularmanner such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable memoryproduce an article of manufacture that is configured for implementingthe functions specified in the flowchart block or blocks.

The computer instructions may execute entirely on the user's computer,partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alone software package, partlyon a user's computer and partly on a remote computer, or entirely on theremote computer or server. In the latter scenario, the remote computermay be connected to the user's computer through any type of network,including but not limited to: a local area network (LAN); a wide areanetwork (WAN); a cellular network; or the connection may be made to anexternal computer (for example, through the Internet using an InternetService Provider).

These computer program instructions may also be stored in acomputer-readable memory that can direct a computer or otherprogrammable data processing apparatus to function in a particularmanner such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable memoryproduce an article of manufacture that is configured for implementingthe function specified in the flowchart block or blocks. The computerprogram instructions may also be loaded onto a computer or otherprogrammable data processing apparatus to cause a series of operationalsteps to be performed on the computer or other programmable apparatus toproduce a computer-implemented process (e.g., method) such that theinstructions that execute on the computer or other programmableapparatus provide steps for implementing the functions specified in theflowchart block or blocks.

Example System Architecture

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a Mental State Monitoring System 100according to particular embodiments. As may be understood from thisfigure, the Mental State Monitoring System 100 includes One or MoreNetworks 115, One or More Third Party Servers 50, a Mental StateMonitoring Server 120 that may, for example, be adapted to execute aMental State Monitoring Module 300, a Database 140, One or More RemoteComputing Devices 154 (e.g., such as a smart phone, a tablet computer, awearable computing device, a laptop computer, a desktop computer, etc.),and One or More Wearable Health Monitoring Devices 156, which may, forexample, be embodied as one or more of eyewear, headwear, clothing, awatch, a hat, a helmet, a cast, an adhesive bandage, a piece of jewelry(e.g., a ring, earring, necklace, bracelet, etc.), or any other suitablewearable device. In particular embodiments, the one or more computernetworks 115 facilitate communication between the One or More ThirdParty Servers 50, the Mental State Monitoring Server 120, Database 140,One or More Remote Computing Devices 154, and the one or more HealthMonitoring Devices 156.

The one or more networks 115 may include any of a variety of types ofwired or wireless computer networks such as the Internet, a privateintranet, a mesh network, a public switch telephone network (PSTN), orany other type of network (e.g., a network that uses Bluetooth or nearfield communications to facilitate communication between computingdevices). The communication link between the One or More RemoteComputing Devices 154 and the Mental State Monitoring Server 120 may be,for example, implemented via a Local Area Network (LAN) or via theInternet.

FIG. 2 illustrates a diagrammatic representation of the architecture forthe Mental State Monitoring Server 120 that may be used within theMental State Monitoring System 100. It should be understood that thecomputer architecture shown in FIG. 2 may also represent the computerarchitecture for any one of the One or More Remote Computing Devices154, one or more Third Party Servers 50, and one or more HealthMonitoring Devices 156 shown in FIG. 1. In particular embodiments, theMental State Monitoring Server 120 may be suitable for use as a computerwithin the context of the Mental State Monitoring System 100 that isconfigured for determining a mental state of a wearer by detectingcharacteristics of the wearer using signals received from sensorscoupled to the eyewear.

In particular embodiments, the Mental State Monitoring Server 120 may beconnected (e.g., networked) to other computing devices in a LAN, anintranet, an extranet, and/or the Internet as shown in FIG. 1. As notedabove, the Mental State Monitoring Server 120 may operate in thecapacity of a server or a client computing device in a client-servernetwork environment, or as a peer computing device in a peer-to-peer (ordistributed) network environment. The Mental State Monitoring Server 120may be a desktop personal computing device (PC), a tablet PC, a set-topbox (STB), a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a cellular telephone, aweb appliance, a network router, a switch or bridge, or any othercomputing device capable of executing a set of instructions (sequentialor otherwise) that specify actions to be taken by that computing device.Further, while only a single computing device is illustrated, the term“computing device” shall also be interpreted to include any collectionof computing devices that individually or jointly execute a set (ormultiple sets) of instructions to perform any one or more of themethodologies discussed herein.

An exemplary Mental State Monitoring Server 120 includes a processingdevice 202, a main memory 204 (e.g., read-only memory (ROM), flashmemory, dynamic random access memory (DRAM) such as synchronous DRAM(SDRAM) or Rambus DRAM (RDRAM), etc.), a static memory 206 (e.g., flashmemory, static random access memory (SRAM), etc.), and a data storagedevice 218, which communicate with each other via a bus 232.

The processing device 202 represents one or more general-purpose orspecific processing devices such as a microprocessor, a centralprocessing unit (CPU), or the like. More particularly, the processingdevice 202 may be a complex instruction set computing (CISC)microprocessor, reduced instruction set computing (RISC) microprocessor,very long instruction word (VLIW) microprocessor, or processorimplementing other instruction sets, or processors implementing acombination of instruction sets. The processing device 202 may also beone or more special-purpose processing devices such as an applicationspecific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array(FPGA), a digital signal processor (DSP), network processor, or thelike. The processing device 202 may be configured to execute processinglogic 226 for performing various operations and steps discussed herein.

The Mental State Monitoring Server 120 may further include a networkinterface device 208. The Mental State Monitoring Server 120 may alsoinclude a video display unit 210 (e.g., a liquid crystal display (LCD)or a cathode ray tube (CRT)), an alpha-numeric input device 212 (e.g., akeyboard), a cursor control device 214 (e.g., a mouse), and a signalgeneration device 216 (e.g., a speaker).

The data storage device 218 may include a non-transitory computingdevice-accessible storage medium 230 (also known as a non-transitorycomputing device-readable storage medium, a non-transitory computingdevice-readable medium, or a non-transitory computer-readable medium) onwhich is stored one or more sets of instructions (e.g., the Mental StateMonitoring Module 300) embodying any one or more of the methodologies orfunctions described herein. The one or more sets of instructions mayalso reside, completely or at least partially, within the main memory204 and/or within the processing device 202 during execution thereof bythe Mental State Monitoring Server 120—the main memory 204 and theprocessing device 202 also constituting computing device-accessiblestorage media. The one or more sets of instructions may further betransmitted or received over a network 115 via a network interfacedevice 208.

While the computing device-accessible storage medium 230 is shown in anexemplary embodiment to be a single medium, the term “computingdevice-accessible storage medium” should be understood to include asingle medium or multiple media (e.g., a centralized or distributeddatabase, and/or associated caches and servers) that store the one ormore sets of instructions. The term “computing device-accessible storagemedium” should also be understood to include any medium that is capableof storing, encoding, or carrying a set of instructions for execution bythe computing device and that causes the computing device to include anyone or more of the methodologies of the present invention. The term“computing device-accessible storage medium” should accordingly beunderstood to include, but not be limited to, solid-state memories,optical and magnetic media, etc.

Exemplary System Platform

As noted above, a system, according to various embodiments, is adaptedto assess the mental state of a wearer of a wearable device. Variousaspects of the system's functionality may be executed by certain systemmodules, including the Mental State Monitoring Module 300. The MentalState Monitoring Module 300 is discussed in greater detail below.

Mental State Monitoring Module

FIG. 3A is a flow chart of operations performed by an exemplary MentalState Monitoring Module 300, which may, for example, run on the MentalState Monitoring Server 120, or any suitable computing device (such asthe One or More Health Monitoring Devices 156 or a suitable mobilecomputing device). In particular embodiments, the Mental StateMonitoring Module 300 may assess a wearer's mental state and makesuggestions to the wearer to address a particular mental stateassociated with the wearer.

The system begins, in various embodiments, at Step 305 by providingeyewear comprising at least one or more sensors coupled to the eyewear.In various embodiments, the system may do this by, for example: (1)facilitating delivery of the eyewear to an address associated with aparticular individual; (2) facilitating distribution of the eyewear froma healthcare worker to the individual; and (3) placing an order of theeyewear from a third party for delivery to the individual. In otherembodiments, this step may be executed manually (e.g., by a human being)rather than a computer.

In various embodiments, the one or more sensors that are coupled to theeyewear (or other health monitoring device) are adapted to detect one ormore characteristics of a wearer of the eyewear, wherein the one or morecharacteristics of the wearer are associated with the wearer's mentalstate. In various embodiments, the sensors coupled to the eyewear orother health monitoring device may include, for example, one or more ofthe following: a heart rate monitor, an electrocardiogram (EKG), anelectroencephalogram (EEG), a pedometer, a thermometer, a front-facingcamera, an eye-facing camera, a microphone, an accelerometer, agyroscope, a magnetometer, a blood pressure sensor, a pulse oximeter, arespiration rate sensor, a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) sensor, askin conductance response sensor, a near-field communication sensor, orany other suitable sensor. In particular embodiments, the sensorscoupled to the eyewear comprise an eye-facing camera, a front-facingcamera, and a heart rate monitor

In various embodiments, the one or more sensors are coupled to acomputing device that is associated with (e.g., embedded within,attached to) the eyewear or other health monitoring device. Inparticular embodiments, the eyewear or other health monitoring devicecomprises at least one processor, computer memory, suitable wirelesscommunications components (e.g., a Bluetooth chip) and a power supplyfor powering the health monitoring device and/or the various sensors.

In particular embodiments, the sensors may be physically coupled to theeyewear in any suitable way. For example, in various embodiments, thesensors may be embedded into the eyewear. In some embodiments, thesensors may be positioned along the brow bar of the eyewear. In otherembodiments, the sensors may be positioned along the one or more of thetemples of the eyewear. In still other embodiments, the sensors may becoupled to one or more of the lenses of the eyewear. As noted above, theone or more sensors may be coupled to a Bluetooth device that isconfigured to transmit the one or more signals to a handheld wirelessdevice, and the step of receiving one or more signals from the one ormore sensors (discussed below in reference to Step 310) furthercomprises receiving the one or more signals from the wireless handhelddevice (e.g., via the Internet). In particular embodiments, one or moreof the sensors may be detachable from the eyewear. For instance, if awearer does not need a temperature sensor or other particular sensor,the sensor may be removed from the eyewear.

The system continues, at Step 310 by receiving one or more signals fromthe one or more sensors, wherein each of the one or more signals relatesto at least one characteristic associated with the wearer. In particularembodiments, the one or more signals that relate to the at least onecharacteristic associated with the wearer may include one or moresignals that may be used to derive: (1) the wearer's a heart rate, (2)the wearer's heart rhythm; (3) a distance traveled by the wearer; (4)the wearer's body temperature; (5) one or more images associated withthe wearer or the environment; (6) one or more sounds associated withthe wearer's body or environment; (7) a speed traveled by the wearer;(8) the wearer's blood pressure; (9) the wearer's oxygen saturationlevel; (10) the wearer's brainwave activity (e.g., the location of thebrainwave relative to the wearer's brain, the frequency of thebrainwave, and the type of brainwave (e.g., gamma waves, beta waves,alpha waves, theta waves, and delta waves)); (11) the wearer's pupilsize; (12) the wearer's perspiration level; (13) the wearer's hydrationlevel; (14) the wearer's respiration rate; (15) the number and/orcadence of steps taken by the wearer; (16) the movement of one or moreof the wearer's facial muscles; (17) one or more biochemical changeswithin the wearer's body; (18) changes in the one or morecharacteristics of the wearer's skin (e.g., skin paleness or clamminess)and/or (19) any other suitable attribute of the wearer or the wearer'senvironment. For instance, the system may receive a signal from aneye-facing camera associated with the eyewear that the wearer's brow isfurrowed at the same time that the system receives a signal from theheart rate sensor that the wearer's heart rate is above a predeterminedtarget heart rate. In various embodiments, the system may store datarelated to the signals and/or data derived from this data for laterreview and use in determining the mental state of the wearer.

In particular embodiments, the system may receive one or more of theabove-referenced signals substantially automatically. In variousembodiments, the system may receive one or more of the signals on asubstantially periodic basis (e.g., by the second, by the minute,hourly, daily, etc.). For example, the system may receive one or moresignals every thirty seconds throughout the day. In other embodiments,the system may receive one or more signals at least partially inresponse to receiving an indication from the wearer that the systemshould receive a signal. For instance, the wearer may speak a voicecommand to the wearable device requesting that the device take thewearer's blood pressure. In various embodiments, the system may receivean indication from the wearer of when to have the system receive thesignal. For example, the system may receive an indication from thewearer to have the system conduct a brain scan of the user (e.g.,receive at least one brainwave signal from the EEG) at 8:00 a.m. and at2:00 p.m. on a particular day. In particular embodiments, the system mayreceive a request from the wearer to have a particular signal receivedfrom a particular sensor at the same time that the system receives asecond particular signal from a second particular sensor. For example,when the system receives a signal that indicates that the user'srespiration rate has increased, the system may, at least partially inresponse to receiving the increased respiration rate signal, also obtainan image of the wearer's eye from an eye-facing camera associated withthe eyewear.

In some embodiments, the system receives a signal of an image capturedby the eyewear. In various embodiments, the system receives a pluralityof images captured by the eyewear. In particular embodiments, the systemreceives the image from the front-facing camera. In some embodiments,the system receives the image substantially automatically from thefront-facing camera. In other embodiments, the system may receive theimage in response to receiving an indication from the wearer to capturethe image. For example, the system may receive a voice command from thewearer to capture the image. In various embodiments, the system maystore the captured image in local or remote memory. In some embodiments,the image captured by the eyewear may be a video.

In various embodiments, the system may receive only one signal from asingle sensor associated with the eyewear. In other embodiments, thesystem may receive a signal from a plurality of the sensors associatedwith the eyewear. In yet other embodiments, the system may receivemultiple signals from one or more of the sensors. In variousembodiments, the system may be configured to receive a first signal froma first sensor at the same time that it receives a second signal from asecond sensor. For example, the system may be configured to receive animage signal from a front-facing camera associated with the eyewear atthe same time that the system receives a heart rate signal from a heartrate sensor associated with the eyewear. As a further example, thesystem may be configured to simultaneously receive a signal from both aneye-facing camera and an EEG associated with the eyewear.

Next, at Step 315, the system analyzes the one or more received signalsto determine at least one characteristic associated with the wearer. Forexample, the system may analyze the one or more received signals todetermine that the at least one characteristic associated with thewearer is an increase or decrease in pupil size. In particularembodiments, the system may analyze the one or more received signals todetermine that the at least one characteristic associated with thewearer is an increase or decrease in heart rate. In some embodiments,the system may analyze the one or more received signals to determinethat the at least one characteristic associated with the wearer is anincrease or decrease in the wearer's perspiration rate. In otherembodiments, the system may analyze the one or more received signals todetermine that the at least one characteristic associated with thewearer is an increase or decrease in respiration rate. In yet otherembodiments, the system may analyze the one or more received signals todetermine that the at least one characteristic associated with thewearer is an increase or decrease in movement. In still otherembodiments, the system may analyze the one or more received signals todetermine that the at least one characteristic associated with thewearer is an increase or decrease in brainwave activity and/orfrequency. In various embodiments, the system may analyze the one ormore received signals to determine that the at least one characteristicassociated with the wearer is a change in location of the wearer'sbrainwave activity. In yet other embodiments, the system may analyze theone or more received signals to determine that the at least onecharacteristic associated with the wearer is a change in wearer's thetype of brainwave (e.g., a change from gamma waves to delta waves). Insome of these embodiments, the system may analyze the one or morereceived signals to determine that the at least one characteristicassociated with the wearer is an increase in heart rate in conjunctionwith an increase in pupil size. It should be understood from thisdisclosure that the system may analyze the one or more signals todetermine that the at least one characteristic associated with thewearer is a combination characteristics that allow the system todetermine the mental state of the wearer.

In various embodiments, the system may store the results of the analysisof the one or more received signals for later comparison with past andfuture analyses of the one or more received signals. In particularembodiments, the system may analyze a particular received signal at aparticular time of day (e.g., morning, noon, night, etc.). In someembodiments, the system may analyze a particular received signal at thesame time that the system analyzes a second particular received signal.For instance, the system may analyze the front-facing camera signal whenit analyzes the heart rate signal. In particular embodiments, the systemmay chart the analysis of the one or more received signals in a visualdiagram. For example, the system may chart the changes in the wearer'sheart rate in a diagram displayed e.g., on the lens of the eyewear or ona separate display screen associated with the eyewear.

At Step 320, the system facilitates determination of a mental state ofthe wearer based on the at least one characteristic. In variousembodiments, the system may facilitate determination of the mental stateof the wearer substantially automatically. In particular embodiments,the system may facilitate determination of the mental state of thewearer in response to receiving manual input of indication request fromthe wearer to determine the wearer's mental state. For example, thesystem may receive a voice command from the wearer requesting the systemdetermine the mental state of the wearer at that time. In still otherembodiments, the system may facilitate determination of the mental stateof the wearer after comparing various signals to predeterminedthresholds to establish that the signal is indicative of at least onecharacteristic. In various embodiments, the system may facilitatedetermination of the mental state of the wearer at random. For instance,the system may determine the mental state of the wearer at different,randomly selected times throughout the day. In some embodiments, thesystem may facilitate determination of the mental state of the wearerperiodically throughout the day at specified times. For instance, thesystem may determine the mental state of the wearer at 8:00 a.m., 10:00a.m., 12:00 p.m., 2:00 p.m., and 4:00 p.m. on a given day. In otherembodiments, the system may determine the mental state of the wearer atpredetermined intervals of time. For instance, the system may determinethe mental state of the wearer every 30 minutes or every two hours.

In other embodiments, the determination of the mental state of thewearer may be that the wearer's mental state is in a particularemotional state (e.g., happy, sad, anxious, calm, scared, angry,surprised, ashamed, envious, curious, relaxed, emotionally stressed,confused, moody, etc.). For instance, the determination of the mentalstate of the wearer may be that the wearer is under emotional stress(i.e., the wearer's mental state is “emotionally stressed”). In someembodiments, the determination of the mental state of the wearer mayinclude the wearer's experience of the wearer's current physical state(e.g., the wearer's experience of bodily pain, nausea, rapid heartbeat,etc.). For example, the determination of the wearer's mental state mayinclude determining that the wearer is responding mentally and/orphysically to sustaining a concussion. In other embodiments, thedetermination of the wearer's mental state may include a determinationof the wearer's cognitive state (e.g., inability to concentrate, poorjudgment, racing thoughts, constant worrying, etc.). For example, thedetermination of the wearer's mental state may be that the wearer ishaving memory problems. In yet other embodiments, the determination ofthe mental state of the wearer may include a mental state associatedwith a particular behavior (e.g., eating more or less, sleeping too muchor too little, isolation from others, procrastinating, neglectingresponsibilities, using alcohol or drugs, nervous habits or twitches,etc.). For instance, the determination of the mental state may be thatthe wearer is overly sleepy (which the system may determine, forexample, by determining that the wearer is sleeping more than apredetermined amount of time per day).

In various embodiments, the system may determine the mental state of thewearer using a scaled rating. For example, where the system isdetermining a mental state such as stress of the wearer, the system maydetermine that the wearer's mental state (e.g., stress level) is low,moderate, or high. In some embodiments, the system may determine thatthe mental state of the wearer includes multiple mental states. Forinstance, the system may determine that the wearer is both emotionallystressed and anxious.

After determining the wearer's mental state, at Step 325 the system mayoptionally associate the mental state of the wearer with at least oneobject (e.g., an animate object, such as a particular person or animal,or an inanimate object, such as a scary clown doll), at least oneactivity (e.g., bowling, playing tennis, driving, working on a computer,or running), at least one external condition (e.g., the user's currentworkload at work, the user's current credit rating, the user's maritalor dating status), and/or at least one internal condition (the user'scurrent weight, health, etc. . . . ). In yet other embodiments, thesystem may associate the mental state of the wearer with both an animateobject and an inanimate object (e.g., a person and an object—forexample, the system may determine that the wearer is typicallyemotionally stressed when they see both the wearer's spouse and acheckbook), or any other combination of factors described herein. Inparticular embodiments, the system may associate the mental state of thewearer with both a particular object and an activity (for example, thesystem may determine that the wearer is typically relaxed when thewearer's spouse is present and the wearer is watching TV).

In various embodiments, the system may associate the mental state of thewearer with the user's external or internal context. In someembodiments, the external or internal context may include one or more ofthe following for a particular time period: (1) the user's currenthealth; (2) the user's general state of mind; (3) the user's currentspending behavior; (4) the current weather conditions at the user'scurrent location (e.g., pollen count, UV index, air quality,precipitation, wind speed and direction, barometric pressure, humidity,outdoor temperature, season, cloud levels); (5) one or more social mediaentries made by or received by the individuals at the particular time;(6) the user's credit rating at the particular time; (7) the user'semployment status at the particular time; (8) the user's housinginformation for the particular time; (9) information from one or moree-mails at or around the particular time; (10) the user's exerciseactivity during the particular time; (11) indoor temperature within thewearer's home or workplace; and/or (12) any other external informationthat may be relevant to and/or have an impact on the user's mentalstate. In order to determine this information, the system may receiveinformation from and/or regarding, for example: (1) the wearer's healthrecords; (2) the wearer's genetics; (3) the wearer's family history; (4)one or more of the wearer's physical attributes; (5) the wearer'sworkout schedule; (6) one or more social media accounts associated withthe wearer; (7) one or more of the wearer's social behaviors; (8) thewearer's arrest history; (9) the weather at a user's current location(e.g., as determined from a suitable weather service); (10) the user'scalendar; (11) the user's spending behaviors; (12) the wearer's credithistory; (13) the wearer's employment status and/or history; (14) thewearer's marital status; (15) the wearer's current residence; (16) anemail account of the wearer; (17) the wearer's travel history; (18) thewearer's aspirations; (19) the wearer's goals; (20) dietary informationfor the wearer, etc.

For example, the system may associate the wearer's mental state (e.g.,“emotionally stressed”, “unhappy”, etc. . . . ) with the activity of apaying bills by: (1) identifying an entry on the wearer's electroniccalendar that indicates that the wearer will be paying bills in aparticular time slot on a particular day; (2) confirming that the useris paying bills in the particular time slot by identifying a checkbookin an image taken by the system's front facing camera during theparticular time slot; and (3) determining the wearer's mental stateduring the time slot using any suitable technique, such as thosedescribed herein.

Similar techniques may be used to determine longer-lasting impacts ofcertain external or internal conditions on a wearer's mental state. Forexample, the system may use any suitable technique to determine thewearer's general mental state (e.g., relatively happy, relatively sad,under relative stress) over a predetermined number of hours, days,weeks, or months, by comparing the wearer's aggregate (e.g., average)mental state for that time period with the wearer's aggregate mentalstate for one or more time periods (e.g., of similar length), or bycomparing the wearer's aggregate mental state for the time period withtypical mental states of the wearer or one or more other individuals.The system may then access any suitable information (e.g., any of thetypes of object, activity, internal context or external contextinformation described herein, or other information) to determine whatmay be contributing to the mental state (e.g., using any suitable dataanalysis techniques). For example, the system may determine that thewearer is typically relatively happy in weeks in which the wearer isexercising more than five times per week and has a balance of less than$1,000 on their personal credit card, and experiences relatively highstress levels in weeks in which the user is exercising less than twotimes per week.

In various embodiments, the system may associate the mental state of thewearer with a person, object, activity, internal context, or externalcontext using one or more signals received from the eyewear's sensorsand/or any other suitable data received by the system. In variousembodiments, the system may associate the mental state of the wearerwith a person, object, or activity by receiving a manual input from thewearer. For instance, the system may receive indication request from thewearer to associate a particular person with the wearer's current mentalstate. In these embodiments, the system may then capture an image of theperson being viewed by the wearer, identify the person in the image andassociate the current mental state of the wearer with the identifiedperson. In some such embodiments, the system may also monitor thewearer's mental state when the wearer next encounters the identifiedperson and track the wearer's mental state over time each time thewearer encounters the identified person. In this way, the system canalert the wearer if the identified person continually causes the wearerto experience the same or similar mental state each time the wearerencounters the identified person. In other embodiments, the system mayassociate the mental state of the wearer with (e.g., an animate orinanimate object) or activity substantially automatically after (e.g.,in response to) determining the mental state of the wearer.

In various embodiments, the system may be configured to associate themental state of the wearer with an animate or inanimate object byexamining a received image of a first object (e.g., a first person)located in the received image. In particular embodiments, the systemdetermines the object in the received image by identifying the objectlocated in the image using any suitable image recognition techniques. Inother embodiments, the system determines the object in the receivedimage by comparing the image of the object with one or more storedimages. At least partially in response to determining that the image ofthe object at least substantially matches a stored image, the system mayidentify the object as being the same as the known object (e.g., personor thing) in the stored image.

In some embodiments, the system may associate the mental state of thewearer with an object based on the proximity of the object to thewearer. For example, the system may use a front-facing camera todetermine that a particular person is in close proximity to the wearer(e.g., in front of the wearer) when the wearer is experiencing aparticular mental state such as stress. In some embodiments, theproximity of a person to the wearer may be obtained by an electronicdevice on the person (e.g., a cellphone, an RFID tag, etc.).

In various embodiments, the system may associate the mental state of thewearer with an activity based on the wearer performing the activity. Forexample, the system may use the system's processor and front facingcamera to determine, from images taken by the front-facing camera, thatthe user is climbing stairs. The system may then assess the wearer'smental state (e.g., in any suitable way described herein) and associatethat that mental state with stair climbing. For example, the system maydetermine that the user is typically mentally relaxed when climbingstairs.

Continuing to Step 330, the system stores, in memory, the associationbetween the wearer's mental state and the object, activity, internalcontext, and/or external context causing the wearer's mental state. Invarious embodiments, the system may store the association between thewearer's mental state and the object, activity, external or internalcontext substantially automatically after (e.g., in response to) makingthe association between the wearer's mental state and the object,activity, internal context and/or external context. In particularembodiments, the system may store the association after (e.g., inresponse to) receiving manual input from the wearer requesting that thesystem store the association. In various embodiments, the system maystore the association for a specified period of time. For example, thesystem may store the association for a day, a month, a year, etc. in thesystem's Database 140. In some embodiments, the system may store theassociation on any suitable server, database, or device. In particularembodiments, the system may store the association on the Mental StateMonitoring Server 120.

Next, at Step 335, the system notifies the wearer or other suitableindividual of the association of the wearer's mental state and theobject, activity, internal context, and/or external context. Forexample, in some embodiments, the system may notify the wearer and thewearer's physician of the association of the wearer's mental state withthe object in the received image and/or the activity that the wearer wasengaged in while experiencing the mental state. In various embodiments,the system notifies the wearer of the association by displaying an imageon the lens of the eyewear, or a display screen associated with theeyewear. In other embodiments, the system notifies the wearer of theassociation by communicating the association through an audio speaker tothe wearer. In some embodiments, the system notifies the wearer of theassociation by sending a notification to the wearer's mobile device. Inparticular embodiments, the system notifies the wearer of theassociation via an electronic communication such as an email or textmessage. In other embodiments, the system may notify the wearer of asingle association substantially immediately after (e.g., in responseto) the system associates the wearer's mental state with a particularobject. In yet other embodiments, the system may notify the wearer ofall associations made on a particular day (or within another particulartime period).

In other embodiments, the system may notify the wearer of theassociation after (e.g., in response to) detecting a particular event.For example, the system may notify the wearer of the association afterthe system no longer detects the presence or proximity of a particularobject. In some embodiments, the system may notify the wearer of theassociation after a particular period of time. For instance, the systemmay notify the wearer of an association one hour after the systemassociates the wearer's mental state with a particular object oractivity. In still other embodiments, the system may notify the wearerof the association at a particular time of day. As an example, thesystem may notify the wearer of an association between the wearer'smental state and an object, activity, internal context, and/or externalcontext at the end of the day.

Continuing to Step 340, the system provides the wearer with one or moresuggested actions to address the wearer's current mental state. Invarious embodiments, the system may provide suggested actions to thewearer in any suitable way. In various embodiments, the system mayprovide one or more suggested actions to the wearer by displaying animage on the lens of the eyewear, or on a display screen associated withthe eyewear. In other embodiments, the system may provide one or moresuggested actions to the wearer by communicating through an audiospeaker to the wearer. In some embodiments, the system provides one ormore suggested actions to the wearer by sending a notification to thewearer's mobile device. In particular embodiments, the system mayprovide one or more suggested actions to the wearer via an electroniccommunication, such as an email or text message. In still otherembodiments, the system may provide a single suggested action to thewearer. In yet other embodiments, the system may provide multiplesuggested actions to the wearer.

In various embodiments, the system may provide suggested actions to thewearer to address the wearer's current mental state substantiallyimmediately after the system notifies the wearer of the associationbetween the wearer's mental state and the particular object, activity,internal context and/or external context. In other embodiments, thesystem may provide one or more suggested actions to the wearer after(e.g., in response to) detecting a particular event. For example, thesystem may provide suggested actions to the wearer after the system nolonger detects the presence or proximity of a particular object. In someembodiments, the system may provide one or more suggested actions to thewearer after a particular period of time. For instance, the system mayprovide suggested actions to the wearer one hour after the systemassociates the wearer's mental state with the particular object. Instill other embodiments, the system may provide one or more suggestedactions to the wearer at a particular time of day. As an example, thesystem may provide one or more suggested actions to the wearer at theend of the day.

In various embodiments, the one or more suggested actions to address thewearer's current mental state may be one or more techniques for reducingstress. In particular embodiments, the suggested actions to address thewearer's current mental state may include, for example: (1) takingmedication; (2) praying; (3) engaging in one or more yoga poses; (4)taking deep breaths; (5) avoiding a particular object (e.g., aparticular person or thing) based on the association between thewearer's mental state and the object. In other embodiments, thesuggested actions to address the wearer's current mental state mayinclude suggesting that the wearer visit links to websites containinginformation on the particular mental state of the wearer. In someembodiments, the suggested actions to address the wearer's currentmental state may include a listing of suggested applications on thewearer's mobile device. For instance, where the wearer's current mentalstate is in a stressed mental state, the system may suggest a yogaapplication on the wearer's mobile device to assist in improving thewearer's mental state. As a further example, if the system determinesthat the wearer typically experiences high levels of stress when thewearer is carrying high amounts of credit card debt, the system maysuggest that the user reduce their debt levels.

In various embodiments, the system, when executing the Mental StateMonitoring Module 300, may omit particular steps, perform particularsteps in an order other than the order presented above, or performadditional steps not discussed directly above. In should also beunderstood that various steps executed “in response to” a particularevent occurring, or a particular condition being satisfied, may also beexecuted “at least partially in response to” the particular eventoccurring or the particular condition being satisfied.

Structure of the Eyewear

As shown in FIG. 4, eyewear 400, according to various embodiments,includes: (1) an eyewear frame 410; (2) a first temple 412; and (3) asecond temple 414. These various components are discussed in more detailbelow. In particular embodiments, the eyewear 400 is computerized andmay serve as the wearable health monitoring device 156 of FIG. 1.

Eyewear Frame

Referring still to FIG. 4, eyewear 400, in various embodiments, includesany suitable eyewear frame 410 configured to support one or more lenses418, 420. In the embodiment shown in this figure, the eyewear frame 410has a first end 402 and a second end 404. The eyewear frame 410 may bemade of any suitable material such as metal, ceramic, polymers or anycombination thereof. In particular embodiments, the eyewear frame 410 isconfigured to support the first and second lenses 418, 420 about thefull perimeter of the first and second lenses 418, 420. In otherembodiments, the eyewear frame 410 may be configured to support thefirst and second lenses 418, 420 about only a portion of each respectivelens. In various embodiments, the eyewear frame 410 is configured tosupport a number of lenses other than two lenses (e.g., a single lens, aplurality of lenses, etc.). In particular embodiments, the lenses 418,420 may include prescription lenses, sunglass lenses, or any othersuitable type of lens (e.g., reading lenses, non-prescription lenses),which may be formed from glass or polymers.

The eyewear frame 410 includes a first and second nose pad 422 (notshown in figure), 424, which may be configured to maintain the eyewear400 adjacent the front of a wearer's face such that the lenses 418, 420are positioned substantially in front of the wearer's eyes while thewearer is wearing the eyewear 400. In particular embodiments, the nosepads 422, 424 may comprise a material that is configured to becomfortable when worn by the wearer (e.g., rubber, etc.). In otherembodiments, the nose pads may include any other suitable material(e.g., plastic, metal, etc.). In still other embodiments, the nose padsmay be integrally formed with the frame 410.

The eyewear frame 410 includes a first and second hinge 426, 428 thatattach the first and second temples 412, 414 to the frame first andsecond ends 402, 404, respectively. In various embodiments, the hingesmay be formed by any suitable connection (e.g., tongue and groove, balland socket, spring hinge, etc.). In particular embodiments, the firsthinge 426 may be welded to, or integrally formed with, the frame 410 andthe first temple 412 and the second hinge 428 may be welded to, orintegrally formed with, the frame 410 and the second temple 414.

First and Second Temples

As shown in FIG. 4, the first temple 412, according to variousembodiments, is rotatably connected to the frame 410 at a right angle toextend the first temple 412 substantially perpendicular, substantiallyparallel, or anywhere in between the right angle to the frame 410. Thefirst temple 412 has a first and second end 412 a, 412 b. Proximate thefirst temple second end 412 b, the first temple 412 includes an earpiece413 configured to be supported by a wearer's ear. Similarly, the secondtemple 414, according to various embodiments, is rotatably connected tothe frame 410 at a right angle to extend the second temple 414substantially perpendicular, substantially parallel, or anywhere inbetween the right angle to the frame 410. The second temple 414 has afirst and second end 414 a, 414 b. Proximate the second temple secondend 414 b, the second temple 414 includes an earpiece 415 configured tobe supported by a wearer's ear.

Sensors

In various embodiments, the second temple 414 has one or more sensors430 connected to the second temple 414. In various embodiments, the oneor more sensors 430 may be coupled to the frame 410, the first andsecond temples 412, 414, the first and second lenses 418, 410, or anyother portion of the eyewear 400 in any suitable way. For instance, theone or more sensors 430 may be embedded into the eyewear 400, coupled tothe eyewear 400, and/or operatively coupled to the eyewear 400. Invarious embodiments, the one or more sensors may be formed at any pointalong the eyewear 400. For instance, a fingerprint reader may bedisposed adjacent the first temple of the eyewear 400. In variousembodiments, the one or more sensors may be formed in any shape. Inaddition, the one or more sensors may be formed on the inner (back)surface of the frame 410, the first and second temples 412, 414, thefirst and second lenses 418, 410, or any other portion of the eyewear400. In other embodiments, the one or more sensors may be formed on theouter (front) surface of the frame 410, the first and second temples412, 414, the first and second lenses 418, 410, or any other portion ofthe eyewear 400.

In various embodiments, the one or more sensors 430 that are coupled tothe eyewear (or other wearable device) are adapted to detect one or morecharacteristics of the eyewear or a wearer of the eyewear, wherein theone or more characteristics of the wearer are associated with thewearer's identity. In various embodiments, the one or more sensorscoupled to the eyewear or other health monitoring device may include,for example, one or more of the following: a near-field communicationsensor, a Bluetooth chip, a GPS unit, an RFID tag (passive or active), afingerprint reader, an iris reader, a retinal scanner, a voicerecognition sensor, a heart rate monitor, an electrocardiogram (EKG), anelectroencephalogram (EEG), a pedometer, a thermometer, a front-facingcamera, an eye-facing camera, a microphone, an accelerometer, amagnetometer, a blood pressure sensor, a pulse oximeter, a skinconductance response sensor, any suitable biometric reader, or any othersuitable sensor. In some embodiments, the one or more sensors mayinclude a unique shape, a unique code, or a unique design physicallyinscribed into the eyewear that may be readable by an individual or aremote computing device. In particular embodiments, the sensors coupledto the eyewear may include one or more electronic communications devicessuch as a near field communication sensor, a Bluetooth chip, an activeRFID, and a GPS unit.

In various embodiments, the one or more sensors are coupled to acomputing device that is associated with (e.g., embedded within,attached to) the eyewear or other wearable device. In particularembodiments, the eyewear or other wearable device comprises at least oneprocessor, computer memory, suitable wireless communications components(e.g., a Bluetooth chip) and a power supply for powering the wearabledevice and/or the various sensors.

As noted above, the one or more sensors may be coupled to a Bluetoothdevice that is configured to transmit the one or more signals to ahandheld wireless device, and the step of using the eyewear to confirmthe identity of the wearer of the eyewear (discussed above in referenceto Step 310) further comprises receiving the one or more signals fromthe wireless handheld device (e.g., via the Internet). In particularembodiments, one or more of the sensors may be detachable from theeyewear. For instance, if a wearer does not need a temperature sensor orother particular sensor, the sensor may be removed from the eyewear.

Exemplary User Experience

Sense and Track Focused States

In a particular example of a wearer using the Mental State MonitoringModule 300 to monitor their mental state, the wearer may put on thewearable device in the morning and continue to wear the devicethroughout the day. During this time, the system tracks the brainwaveactivity, including the types of brainwaves, of the wearer using thesystem's EEG. The system particularly tracks the gamma wave activity ofthe wearer, which may at the optimal range, for example, signify a highfocused mental state of the wearer. The system may store the brainwaveactivity and chart the highs and lows of the wearer's brainwave activitythroughout the day in order to determine the times throughout the daywhen the wearer is most focused. For example, where the wearer hasrelatively high gamma wave activity from 9:00 a.m. until 11:00 a.m., andrelatively high theta wave activity from 2:00 p.m. until 3:00 p.m., thesystem will notify the wearer that the wearer's highest cognitivefunctioning occurs from 9:00-11:00 a.m. and the wearer's lowestcognitive functioning occurs from 2:00-3:00 p.m. The wearer may then usethis information to alter the wearer's activities so that the wearer isfocused on important matters from 9:00-11:00 a.m. and less importantmatters from 2:00-3:00 p.m.

Sense and Track Low-Productivity States

Similar to the system tracking high focused states, the system, in aparticular example, will also track low-productivity states. This periodof low-productivity may be measured, for example, by tracking thewearer's brainwave activity, the wearer's movements, the distancetraveled by the wearer, and/or the wearer's speed of travel. The systemmay also capture images of the wearer's surroundings for use, forexample, in determining one or more activities that the wearer isengaged in. For instance, in a period in which the wearer has not movedand has had a particular type of brainwave such as theta waves for anextended period of time, the system may capture a plurality of imagesfrom the system's front-facing camera in order to determine that thewearer has been sitting in front of a television during those periods oftime. The system may then track the amount of time that the wearer spentin the particular state and then notify the wearer and provide thewearer with one or more recommendations, such as to exercise rather thanwatch TV, or to exercise while watching TV.

Identify Periods of High Stress

In a further particular example of a wearer using the Mental StateMonitoring Module 300 of the One or More Wearable Health MonitoringDevices 156 to monitor the wearer's mental state, the system tracks thewearer's various mental states through a typical day via the wearabledevice (e.g., a pair of eyewear). The system tracks the wearer's mentalstate by monitoring the wearer's pupil size, heart rate, perspirationrate, respiration rate, movement, and brainwave activity. The system mayalso monitor potential causes of a certain change in the wearer's pupilsize, heart rate, perspiration level, respiration rate, movement, andbrainwave activity using a front-facing camera.

For example, if the wearer encounters a particular person that causesthe wearer high stress as indicated by a rapid heartbeat in the wearerand an increase in the wearer's perspiration rate, the system capturesan image of the person causing the high stress. The system may thenpresent this image to the wearer with a suggestion to not interact inthe future with the particular person. The system may also suggest otherways of interacting with the person in the future should avoidance beimpractical. For instance, if the wearer works for the particular personthat causes the wearer high stress, the system may suggest writing downwhat the wearer needs to speak to the person about prior to interactingwith the person. The system may, for example, provide these suggestionsto the wearer through a notification sent to the wearer's mobile deviceso that other people around the wearer are not made aware of thewearer's high stress.

Monitor Behavior and Movements

In another example, the system may monitor and track one or morespecific behaviors and/or movements of the wearer in order to diagnoseparticular mental states. For example, the system may track the wearer'smovements to determine whether a wearer frequently has one or moresimple tics such as motor tics including, for example, eye blinking orother nervous eye movements, facial grimacing, shoulder shrugging,muscle twitches, head or shoulder jerking, or one or more complex ticssuch as facial grimacing combined with a head twist and a shouldershrug. After monitoring the wearer's movements for a predeterminedperiod of time (e.g., a day, a week, a month, etc.), the system maynotify the wearer or the wearer's physician that the wearer has one ormore behavioral characteristics that are consistent with a neurologicalcondition such as Tourette syndrome.

CONCLUSION

Many modifications and other embodiments of the invention will come tomind to one skilled in the art to which this invention pertains, havingthe benefit of the teaching presented in the foregoing descriptions andthe associated drawings. Therefore, it is to be understood that theinvention is not to be limited to the specific embodiments disclosed andthat modifications and other embodiments are intended to be includedwithin the scope of the appended claims. Although specific terms areemployed herein, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense onlyand not for the purposes of limitation.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer-implemented method of assessing themental state of a wearer of eyewear comprising one or more sensorscoupled to the eyewear, the one or more sensors being adapted to detectone or more characteristics of the wearer of the eyewear, wherein theone or more characteristics are associated with the wearer's mentalstate, the method comprising: a. receiving, by a processor, one or moresignals from the one or more sensors, wherein each of the one or moresignals relates to at least one characteristic associated with thewearer, the at least one characteristic being selected from a groupconsisting of: i. pupil size, ii. heart rate, iii. perspiration rate,iv. respiration rate, v. physical movement, and vi. brainwave activity;b. analyzing, by a processor, the one or more received signals todetermine the at least one characteristic; c. facilitating, by aprocessor, determination of a mental state of the wearer based, at leastin part, on the at least one characteristic; and d. associating, by aprocessor, the mental state of the wearer with at least one of one ormore stimuli selected from a group consisting of: (1) an object; (2) anactivity; (3) an internal context associated with the wearer; and (4) anexternal context associated with the wearer.
 2. The computer-implementedmethod of claim 1, further comprising the step of, providing a wirelesstransmitter coupled to the one or more sensors, the wireless transmitterbeing configured to transmit the one or more signals to a handheldcomputing device, wherein the step of receiving one or more signals fromthe one or more sensors further comprises, receiving the one or moresignals from the handheld computing device via the Internet.
 3. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the one or more sensorscomprises at least one sensor selected from a group consisting of: a. aneye facing camera; b. a forward facing camera; c. an electrocardiogramsensor; d. a heart rate monitor; e. a microphone; f. a skin conductanceresponse sensor; g. an accelerometer; and h. a gyroscope.
 4. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 3, wherein the eyewear comprises aneye facing camera, a forward facing camera, and a heart rate monitor. 5.The computer-implemented method of claim 3, further comprising the stepof: a. determining, by a processor, that the wearer of the eyewear isunder emotional stress; b. in response to determining that the wearer ofthe eyewear is under emotional stress, capturing, by a processor, animage by the forward facing camera; c. receiving, by a processor, theimage; d. identifying an object from within the received image; and e.facilitating notification of the wearer of the association of thewearer's emotionally stressed state and the object in the image.
 6. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 5, wherein the object is aparticular individual.
 7. The computer-implemented method of claim 6,wherein the step of identifying the particular individual comprisesusing one or more face recognition techniques to determine that a humanis present within the image.
 8. The computer-implemented method of claim6, wherein the step of identifying the particular individual comprisesusing one or more face recognition techniques to determine the identityof the particular individual.
 9. The computer-implemented method ofclaim 5, wherein the step of determining that the wearer of the eyewearis under emotional stress further comprises: a. receiving, by aprocessor, an image of the wearer's pupil from the eye facing camera; b.determining, by a processor, from the received image the size of thewearer's pupil; c. comparing, by a processor, the size of the wearer'spupil to a predefined measurement of the wearer's pupil; and d. at leastpartially in response to determining that the wearer's pupil sizeexceeds the predefined measurement of the wearer's pupil determining, bya processor, that the wearer is in a state of emotional stress.
 10. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 5, wherein the step of determiningthat the wearer of the eyewear is under emotional stress furthercomprises: a. determining, by a processor, the respiration rate of thewearer from the received one or more signals; b. comparing thedetermined respiration rate to a predefined respiration rate level; andc. in response to determining that the respiration rate exceeds thepredefined respiration rate level, determining, by a processor, that thewearer is under emotional stress.
 11. The computer-implemented method ofclaim 3, further comprising the step of: a. receiving, by a processor,an image captured by the eyewear; b. after receiving the image,identifying, by a processor, an object in the received image; and c.notifying, by a processor, the wearer of the association of the wearer'smental state and the object in the received image.
 12. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 11, wherein the object is a person.13. The computer-implemented method of claim 3, further comprising thesteps of: a. notifying, by a processor, the wearer of the eyewear oftheir mental state; and b. providing, by a processor, to the wearer oneor more suggested actions to address their current mental state.
 14. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 13, wherein: a. the wearer's mentalstate is one of emotional stress; and b. the one or more suggestedactions comprise one or more techniques for reducing stress.
 15. Acomputer-implemented method of assessing the mental state of a wearer ofeyewear comprising one or more sensors coupled to the eyewear, the oneor more sensors being adapted to detect one or more characteristics ofthe wearer of the eyewear, wherein the one or more characteristics areassociated with the wearer's mental state, the method comprising: a.receiving, by a processor, one or more first images from the eye facingcamera, wherein at least one of the one or more first images relates toat least one characteristic associated with the wearer; b. analyzing, bya processor, the at least one or more first images to determine the atleast one characteristic; and c. facilitating, by a processor,determination of a mental state of the wearer based on the at least onecharacteristic.
 16. The computer-implemented method of claim 15, furthercomprising the steps of: a. receiving, by a processor, one or moresecond images from the front facing camera; b. determining, by aprocessor, the mental state of wearer based at least in part on one ormore wearer characteristics selected from a group consisting of: i. thewearer's pupil size, ii. the wearer's respiration rate, iii. thewearer's perspiration rate, iv. the paleness of the wearer's skin, andv. the wearer's brain activity level; c. associating, by a processor,the mental state of the wearer with a factor selected from a groupconsisting of: i. an object in close proximity to the wearer; and ii. anactivity in which the wearer is participating in.
 17. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 16, wherein the step of associatingthe mental state of the wearer with the factor further comprises thesteps of: a. detecting, by a processor, the object in the one or moresecond images; and b. storing, in memory, the association of thewearer's mental state with the object.
 18. The computer-implementedmethod of claim 16, wherein the step of associating the mental state ofthe wearer with the factor further comprises the steps of: a. using theone or more second images to determine an activity that the wearer wasengaged in when the one or more images were taken; and b. storing, inmemory, the association of the wearer's mental state with the activity.19. The computer-implemented method of claim 16, wherein the eyewearfurther comprises a near-field communication sensor that is configuredto detect the presence of the at least one of the factor, the methodfurther comprising the steps of: a. receiving, by a processor, a signalfrom the near-field communication sensor; b. determining, by aprocessor, the identity of the factor from the received signal; and c.storing, by a processor, the identity of the factor and the mental stateof the wearer in memory.
 20. The computer-implemented method of claim16, wherein the step of determining the mental state of the wearerfurther comprises: a. measuring, by a processor, a pupil size of thewearer; b. measuring, by a processor, a respiration rate level of thewearer; c. comparing, by a processor, i. the pupil size of the wearer toa predefined pupil size; and ii. comparing the respiration rate of thewearer to a predefined respiration rate; and d. determining, by aprocessor, that the wearer is in a stressful state in response todetermining that the measured pupil size exceeds the predefined pupilsize and the measured respiration rate exceeds the predefinedrespiration rate.
 21. A system for assessing the mental state of awearer of a wearable device comprising: a. at least one processor; andb. memory operatively coupled to the at least one processor, wherein theat least one processor is configured to: i. receive one or more signalsfrom a device selected from a group consisting of: a helmet and eyewear,the device having one or more sensors embedded therein, wherein each ofthe one or more signals relates to at least one characteristicassociated with the wearer, the at least one characteristic selectedfrom a group consisting of:
 1. pupil size,
 2. heart rate, 3.perspiration rate,
 4. respiration rate,
 5. movement, and
 6. brainwaveactivity; ii. analyze the one or more received signals to determine theat least one characteristic; iii. determine a mental state of the wearerbased at least in part on the at least one characteristic; iv. associatethe mental state of the wearer with one or more stimuli selected from agroup consisting of: (1) an object; (2) an activity; (3) an internalcontext of the wearer; and (4) an external context of the wearer. 22.The system of claim 22, wherein the at least one processor is furtherconfigured to monitor at least one of the wearer's pupil size andbrainwave activity over time to determine whether the wearer hassustained a concussion.